Invalid lift



April 5, 1949. c. H. WELCH 2,456,289 INVALID LIFT I Filed March 29,.1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6'0 66 Q/ @o i 60 i I 6/ INVENTOR. m UHHELEJHWELCH GT O NEYJ April 5, 1949. c. H. WELCH 2,466,289

I INVALID LIFT Filed March 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HTTOENEY PatentedApr. 5, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE INVALID LIFT GharlesHlWelch, Auburn,Wash. Application Marc'h 29, 1947; Serial No; 738,099

(OLE-86) ,5 Glaims.

This invention relates to improvements in what may be called invalidlifts and it has reference more particularly to apparatus-adapted foruse in hospitals, or like places, for the lifting of an invalid from orinto a bed, or for-carrying aperson while sick or under the influence ofan anesthetic from a bed to an operating table, or vice versa.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a device of theabove kind that m-ay be rolled along a floor, and brought directly overthe bed or table on which the'person is laying, or is to be laid, andwhich is equipped with 'coacting sets of tong-like supports, adapted tobe swung from an open position to a position closed beneath a personlying on the bed or table, as a lifting means, and then to be bodilyelevated, thus to lift the person clear of the bed and to support himfor transportation to a place of rest; the supports being operable torelease the patient easily and without injury, merely by lowering themto the bed and then opening them apart.

.It is also an object of this invention to provide a lift of the abovestated kind that may be-easily handled by one person and which may beadjusted as required to adapt it to its various uses for persons ofvarious size and beds'of different height.

Other objects of the invention are-to be found in the details ofconstruction of'the various par-ts of the device, in their'combinationand in their mode of operation, as will hereinafter be fully described.

In accomplishing these and other objects-of the invention, I haveprovided the improved details of construction, the preferred forms ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is aside elevation of an invalid lift embodied by the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, showing its relationship to abed when positioned for lifting a person therefrom.

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail showing the gearing used in lifting andlowering the patient carrying means or supports; the section beingtakenon line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

' Fig. 4 is a sectional detail, taken-on lined-4 in Fig. 2, showing thegearing whereby-the patient supports may be opened apart and closedtogether.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged showing, in' end view, oi the patient carryingsupports and their actuating gearing. V

Fig. -6 is a-sectional detail of the supporting 2 bearing and gearingof-the supports at one end of the frame.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevation of thie -bearing and its lifting rack.

"Fig dis aperspective view of parts of one of the patient liftingmembers.

Refer-ring "more in ,detail to the-drawings- -'Itis the intent that thepresent :devi'ce be :of' such "size thatit may be moved easily betweenrooms of a hospital through doorways :oi or-- dinary size,and adapted topick-up a'person-from ahospitahbe'd-df ordinary height. Also, it isintended to aocommodate persons of average weightand of average size.However, -'the-size of the-device and the relative proportions of itsparts might be varied within a certain rangeof limits without-=departing irom the spirit of the invention.

In its present; preferred form, the device comprises a main framestructure made up of opposite end fra-mes illand 1-0 that arejoinedrigidly in upright, spaced relationshipby' horizontal nonnecting "rods-H. The two end "frames are 'substantiallyalihe in size and constructionand by reference to-Fig. *2, it will be understood that each is-made upof -tubular members, and oomprisesa vertical posti2, atone side thereof,that is rigidly and securely fixed at its lower end in a fitting I 3from which a horizontal member Mex ten'ds'in a transverse direction;that is, directly toward the opposite side of the device. rat-the outerendof the member I4 is afitting '15 which mounts "therein -a-framesupporting caster wheel it. A similar supporting caster it is mci-mtedin the fitting 13. With both-of-the end frames =10 and H3 :so equippedwith supporting casters, 1 the device may be easilyrolled inany'direction- -upon a'fioor and easily-brought to loading or unloadingposition over a bed or the like.

Secured tothe upperendofthe post lief-each end frame, by meansofapipejfitti-ng This a-transverse-frame structure that comprises paralleland vertically-spaced top and bottom members; and l 9, that. are'rigidlyjoined at their outer ends by a vertical pipe member 20 and arerigidlyjoined at their inner ends by a vertical member II -which isapplied at its lower end to the fitting -l1;-tl ie shown in f-Fi'gs. 1and '4 that ORE-10f thesetubes joins the end frames directly between thelower end fitting i 3. Another cross' rod --'l I 11 joins -=the framesdirectly -between the upper ends of the posts 2|, and the third crossrod joins the frames directly between the fittings 11 that are appliedto the upper ends of the posts l2. All parts of the main frame are thusrigidly and securely united.

It is to be understood that the two transverse frame structuresconstituting the upper portions of the opposite end frames, aresupported at such elevation that they may be positioned directly over abed of the height and kind ordinarily used in hospitals, with someclearance, as has been illustrated in Fig. 2, wherein a bed has beenindicated in dotted lines and designated by reference numeral 25. Theframe may be longer than a bed or it may be shorter without detriment toits use.

Extended between the two lateral or transverse portions of the endframes, are the members provided for lifting and holding the patientwhile being moved, and which I have referred to herein as the patientsupports. These members are shown in plan view in Fig. 4 as comprising apair of parallel opposite side rods 30 and 30 extended horizontallybetween the end frames. Each rod is equipped at its opposite ends withhanger or supporting arms 3!, and each of these is supported at itsinner end by a trunnion 3| :1: about which it may swing pivotally. Thesetrunnions are contained in bearing housings 32 and 32 in opposite endframes l and I0.

As observed in Figs. 2 and 4, each of the bearing housings 32 iscontained for vertical adjustment between spaced, vertical guide rods34-44 which are fixed at their upper and lower ends respectively to thehorizontal tubes 18 and I9 of the corresponding end frames. Thetrumiions 3la: of the arms 3| at corresponding ends of the device, aremounted in horizontally spaced relationship in a bearing housing32, andthe trunnions of the same bearing are equipped with gear wheels 35 inintermeshing relationship, as seen in Fig. 5, whereby the two supportsmay be held in proper functional relationship, and caused to swing inunison between open and closed positions. A shaft 40 extends between thehousings 32 and 32 and is rotatably contained therein, and fixed to thisshaft are gear wheels 42 and 42 that mesh with gears 35 at each end ofthe device as seen in Fig. 4.

At one end, the shaft 40 is equipped with a bevel gear 43 and thisoperates, as seen in Fig. 4, in driving mesh with a bevel gear wheel 44on a shaft 45 that is supported revolubly in a housing 46 and extends toone side of the device where it has connection, through gearingindicated at 41, with a hand wheel 48 for the manual adjusting of thetwo patient supports between open and closed positions. The housing 46is fixed to the bearing block 32 at the end of the device, and may moveup and down with the block.

It will be understood that, through the gearing above described, theturning of the hand wheel 48 will impart rotation to shaft 40, and this,through the gears 42 thereon, and gears 35, will cause outward or inwardswinging of the arms 3! and a like swinging of the horizontal rods 3030from or toward each other.

Fixed on the rods 30 and 30, at spaced intervals therealong, are thin,inwardly directed fingers 50, adapted to be moved from positions atopposite sides of a patient, to positions beneath the patient when lyingon a bed or the like. When the supports are in what may be called aclosed position, as seen in full lines in Figs. 2 and 5, the fingers 50as extending inwardly from the opposite rods 30-30, will overlap eachother, as shown in Fig. 4, and when the supports are opened apart, asindicated in dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 5, the ends of the fingers atopposite sides are substantially spaced apart and the fingers aresubstantially vertical; that is, the fingers of the two rods 3030 arespaced a distance ample for a person to lie between them.

The patient supports, constituted by the rods 30- 30, arms 3| andfingers 50, may be bodily adjusted between lowered and raised positionsby the vertical movement of the bearing housings 32 and 32. Thisadjustment of housings may be effected by means which I have shown bestin Figs. 2, 3 and 7, wherein it is shown that each housing has avertical rack bar fixed thereto at its lower end and extended upwardlyfrom the housing and slidably through a bearing housing 6| fixed to thetop member l8 of the corresponding side frame. Extended between thebearings 6| is a horizontal shaft 62 and fixed on this, as in Fig. 3,are gears 6363 in mesh with the racks 6060. At one end of shaft 62is abevel gear wheel 64 and this meshes with a bevel gear 65 on a shaft 86carried in a housing 51 that is fixed to the end frame. A hand wheel 68is connected to shaft 66 by gearing as indicated at 10.

Through this arrangement of gearing, turning of the hand" wheel 63 willcause an upward or downward adjustment of both racks and will therebycause a corresponding raising or lowering of the housings 32 and 32 toraise or lower the patient supports accordingly.

In Fig. 8, I have shown that the cross rods 30 and 30 are tubular andthat the fingers 50 are fixed thereto. The fingers which are at the endsof the tubes have knurled hub ends, as at 50m, and these surfaces engageagainst similarly knurled surfaces 3hr on the ends of the suspendingarms 3!. Rods 301 extend centrally through the tubes 30 from end to endthereof, and through their suspending arms 3| and have lock nuts, as at3011,, applied to the ends of the rods to clamp the arms tightly againstthe knurled end surfaces of the end fingers, thus to hold the tubularparts 30 against any relative turning. By loosening the nuts 3ln, theknurled surfaces may be suificiently disengaged to permit of any desiredturning adjustment of the rods 30 for obtaining finger adjustment ofthat kind indicated by the dotted line showing of the fingers in Fig. 5.

With the device so constructed, it would be used as follows:

Assuming that the patient is to be moved from a bed; the device isrolled into position as seen in Fig. 2 with the patient supports openedapart, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5 and elevated to position toadequately clear the patient. Then with the device in place, the patientlifting structure is lowered to proper position by turning hand wheel 68and, then the wheel 48 is rotated to cause the liftin fingers 50 to beprojected beneath the patient from opposite sides. Then the carryingstructure is elevated by turning wheel 68 to lift the patient clear ofthe bed. The device is then pushed to the place where patient is to beplaced.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A device of the characterdescribed comprising a mobile structure including opposite end frames, apair of transversely spaced, horizontal rods extended lengthwise of thestructurebetween said end frames, a pair of arms mounted I by each ofthe opposite end frames with ends adapted to be swung toward and fromeach other in a vertical plane and transversely of the structure, saidarms supporting said rods from their swinging ends, means for actuatingsaid arms in unison to swing said rods from and toward each otherbetween inner and outer limits of travel, fingers fixed rigidly to saidrods and adapted by the swinging of said rods from their outer limits oftravel to their inner limit to be brought from a spaced apartrelationship to an intermeshing relationship for the support of a personthereon between the rods.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 including also bearings mounted in theopposite end frames for the pivotal mounting of the said pairs of armstherein and means operable for the raising and lowering of said bearingsin unison.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a mobile structureincluding opposite end frames, a bearin housing mounted in each endframe for vertical adjustment therein, a pair of arms, with trunnions atupper ends rotatably mounted in each of said bearing housings, andadapted to "be swun on said trunnions from and toward each other attheir lower ends, a pair of transversely spaced, horizontal rodsextended lengthwise of the structure and fixed at their ends to theswinging ends of corresponding arms of the said pairs of arms, a gearwheel fixed on each of the trunnions, an actuating shaft extendedlengthwise of the structure and rotatably mounted by said bearinghousings; gears fixed on said shaft meshing with the ears on saidtrunnions, and means for rotating said shaft to effect an inward oroutward swinging adjustment of said longitudinal rods from and towardeach other, and fingers fixed on said longitudinal rods and adapted bythe swinging adjustment thereof to be moved between spaced apart andintermeshed relationship.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a mobile structureincluding opposite end frames, a bearin housing mounted in each endframe for vertical adjustment therein, a pair of arms, with trunnions atupper ends rotatably mounted in each of said bearing housings, andadapted to be swung on said trunnions from and toward each other attheir lower ends, a pair of transversely spaced, horizontal rodsextended lengthwise of the structure and fixed at their ends to theswinging ends of corresponding arms of the said pairs of arms, a gearwheel fixed on each of the trunnions, an actuating shaft extendedlengthwise of the structure and rotatably mounted by said bearinghousings; gears fixed on said shaft meshing with the gears on saidtrunnions, and means for rotating said shaft to effect an inward oroutward swinging adjustment of said longitudinal rods from and towardeach other, and fingers fixed on said longitudinal rods and adapted bythe swinging adjustment thereof to be moved between spaced apart andintermeshed relationship, and means for effectin a raising and loweringadjustment of said bearing housings in unison.

5. A device as recited in claim 3 including also a rack bar fixed to andextended vertically from each bearing housing, a shaft extendinghorizontally between the opposite end frames, gears on said shaftmeshing with said rack bars; and means for rotating said shaft to effectthe raising and lowering of said bearin housing in unison for theraising and lowering of said longitudinal rods, and means for securingthe said shaft against turning.

CHARLES H. WELCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

